Correlations between bone mineral density of the hand and other skeletal sites as measured by DXA in Chinese women and men.

This study was aimed at assessing the correlations between the bone mineral density (BMD) of the hand and other skeletal sites in Chinese women and men. We measured the BMD of the total body, the anteroposterior lumbar spine (L2-L4), bilateral proximal femurs (i.e., total hip, femoral neck, and trochanter), and bilateral total hands in 363 Chinese adults (96 males, 267 females) using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Student's t tests, and Pearson's correlation coefficients (r). We found that bilateral hand measurements reduced precision error by 36% as compared with a single hand measurement. Dominant hand BMD was significantly higher than nondominant hand BMD. For both the dominant and nondominant sides, hand BMD was significantly higher in males than in females. Hand BMD correlated significantly (p<0.001) with the BMD of all skeletal sites for all subjects (r=0.681-0.848), the male group (r=0.568-0.857), and the female group (r=0.687-0.859). After normal references for the Chinese population have been established, further investigations may determine the clinical usefulness of hand BMD measurement in the diagnosis of osteoporosis and the prediction of fracture risk.